Yesterday evening, Toronto City Council voted to allow fiveplexes and sixplexes in the Toronto and East York District and a portion of Scarborough — a significant dilution of the originally recommended city-wide legalization. This latest move from the City puts in jeopardy $471 million in federal funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).
The Scarborough region included in the adoption is generally bound by Steeles Avenue to the north, Midland Avenue to the west, Highway 401 to the south, and Neilson Road and Rouge River to the east, where a sixplex pilot ushered forth by Ward 23 Councillor Jamaal Myers was already in place.
After much debate and deputations from speakers, the original recommendation to permit sixplexes citywide was begrudgingly amended by Parkdale—High Park Councilllor Gord Perks and was carried with 18 voting for the motion and six voting against, officially leaving the majority of Toronto's suburban neighbourhoods in Etobicoke—York, North Toronto, and Scarborough out of the sixplex fold. The motion also included that neighbourhood infrastructure such as street cleaning, public realm maintenance and improvements be provided in neighbourhoods with sixplexes.
"I'm moving this very reluctantly. I've spent a considerable amount of time working with my colleagues on Council trying to find majority support for doing what this council already committed to in 2023, which is city-wide sixplexes. But I have been unable to find that," said Councillor Perks at Council. "[...] This creates some risk in our relationship with the federal government, especially since this council voted, over two years ago, that sixplexes would be part of our [HAF] plan."
Alongside offering more housing options to Torontonians, the city-wide approval of sixplexes would have represented a major step towards achieving the City’s 35 milestones committed to under the federal HAF, for which Toronto was allocated $471.1 million in funding to be put towards "accelerating development of new housing and preserving existing housing, and achieving a total of 60,980 net new permitted homes over three years."
The City received an upfront sum of $117 million through the HAF after an agreement with the Feds was reached in December 2023, but whether or not Toronto receives the remaining funding in full hinges on it's ability to achieve certain milestones laid out in their HAF Action Plan, including permitting sixplexes city wide by the end of June 2025. This is according to a letter from former Housing Minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith sent to Mayor Olivia Chow in March, which stated that Toronto could lose 25% of its annual HAF payment if it continues to fall behind on milestones.
Wednesday's debate marked the culmination of a series of studies conducted by City staff to discern the viability of ramping up missing middle permissions on single-detached lots within the city. One of the first major amendments to kickstart the city-wide sixplex conversation began with the original Multiplex Study in 2023, which led to fourplexes being approved city wide in May of that year. But at the time, Councillor Jamaal Myers was already calling for more density.
Following the adoption of city-wide fourplexes, Myers initiated a pilot program in his home ward of Scarborough North (Ward 23) that would test the efficacy of permitting fiveplexes and sixplexes on properties designated 'Neighbourhoods' in the Official Plan. The pilot study commenced soon after the city-wide adoption of fourplexes, and its results were promising.
Findings showed that the built form of a fiveplex or sixplex was viable on around 60% of of single-family home plots in the ward, increased density was found to optimize existing infrastructure rather than overload it, and most additional parking could already be accommodated for on residential streets. Other potential upsides included the stabilization of declining populations and support for local retail establishments and services.
More than that, intensified missing middle permissions would mean increased housing options for Scarborough residents. "It offers families a way, particularly seniors, a way to downsize while staying in these neighbourhoods," says Myers. "And it offers a lot of the kids who grew up in these neighbourhoods a way to move into and/or stay in these neighbourhoods and raise their own families in a way that they wouldn't otherwise be able to do."
While no five or sixplex permits have been issued as of now, Myers says he expects applications to come down the pipeline.
After a year and half, a preliminary report on the pilot program, delivered in December 2024, led to City Council voting to study the viability of fiveplexes and sixplexes city wide via the final multiplex study that was presented to Council yesterday afternoon.
Going into the Council meeting, Myers told STOREYS he was expecting some resistance. "I think it's going to be a push," he said. "Honestly, change is hard. People generally are hesitant to change, and the City, historically, has not done a great job at reaching out to people and explaining what we're doing."
Reflecting the highly-contentious nature of the topic, the agenda item posted a remarkable 29 speakers and 30 letters from various residents' associations, builders, planners, design studios, and more, all arguing their case for the future of Toronto's so-called 'yellowbelt.'
Speaking on behalf of their constituents, councillors debated the efficacy of sixplexes for over three hours, expressing support as well raising concerns.
“Cities grow or die, neighbourhoods grow or die. It is unique in North America that we have neighbourhoods that have never been reinvested in. Nowhere else in the world is this the case," said Councillor Perks. "If the communities in the inner suburbs want to thrive, they need to attract reinvestment, and that reinvestment comes from reforms like this.”
Councillor Alejandra Bravo (Ward 9, Davenport) focused on the funding component, inquiring what a potential loss of HAF funds would mean for other housing projects currently being carried out by the City, such as the revitalization of Toronto Community housing Corporation, transforming Toronto’s waterfront, and expanding missing middle housing.
"We would be in the situation, today, where should we not make progress on this particular item, we will be putting the people of Toronto, who are in need of housing, in peril in some way, correct?" she asked. "We’re taking a risk on the backs of people who need housing?”
Councillor Lily Cheng (Ward 18, Willowdale) who voted for the amended bill, raised concerns about preserving the character of certain neighbourhoods and about infrastructure not meeting population growth within her own ward. “With 145% growth over 20 years in my neighbourhood, we need to catch up with our infrastructure, and if we don't catch up, how can we commit to more growth?”
Additionally, the issue of land values increasing as a result of the sixplex expansion was raised by Councillor Parthi Kandavel (Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest), while others simply felt the implementation of sixplexes citywide was not necessary and was being carried out too rashly.
